Syllabus

__Syllabus:__ **NAZARETH COLLEGE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION** **CAPSTONE SEMINAR - Fall 2012** TSL 690 3 Credits

Room GAC 233

Shawnna Sweet

In this cross-disciplinary culminating experience, students will examine current issues and trends, and acquire an orientation to on-going professional development. This seminar is a collaborative forum for refining and presenting inquiry projects and professional portfolios to an audience of colleagues representing a wide variety of disciplines and school/community settings.
 * COURSE DESCRIPTION**

One of the goals of the Capstone Seminar is to create a learning community. Capstone is the culmination of your Master’s program and each of you should leave with a professional understanding of what it is to be a Master of Education. It is our hope to see your passions and enthusiasm for teaching extend to a level of professional ownership. We will have you form cohorts to allow you to support and encourage one another. We will mentor and facilitate, but the true teaching will come from the varied experiences and strengths of the group members. Instructor feedback will address your professional skills, your knowledge and your dispositions with the intent of supporting your emerging professionalism.
 * INSTRUCTOR’S PHILOSOPHICAL APPROACH**

♦ Why is a sense of knowing one’s self, one’s integrity, one’s passions, one’s presuppositions instrumental in the framing of one’s concept as a professional educator? ♦ Why do professional educators need to reclaim our profession and view ourselves as agents of change?
 * ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS**

Capstone Seminar is a course that has four major learning outcomes. Students will: 1. Articulate the domains of teaching responsibility 2. Be, and see themselves as, reflective practitioners 3. Understand the power of networking within the profession 4. Deepen their understanding of professional issues in TESOL education.
 * GOALS/OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES**

Teachers prepared at Nazareth College:
 * TEAC CLAIMS**

• demonstrate the knowledge to be successful educators;

• design and implement effective instruction for diverse learners in various settings;

• reflect critically on their practice and the profession. This class will address all three claims.

The School of Education has a very specific policy addressing plagiarism, documentation, duplicative work, and style for your writing, which is the key mode for showing your thinking at the graduate level. Any use of electronic resources for communication clearly falls within this writing policy. Please refer to the student handbook for any clarification regarding these policies.
 * WRITING POLICY**

Recommended Text and Reference: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). (2010). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact your academic course work or participation in this class, please contact the Office for Students with Disabilities (GAC, Room 335). It is your responsibility as a student requesting an accommodation due to a qualifying disability to self-identify by registering with the Office for Students with Disabilities and to furnish documentation about the nature of the disability. Informing other faculty or staff personnel does not constitute registering with the Office for Students with Disabilities. You must provide documentation of the disability to the Office for Students with Disabilities so that reasonable accommodations can be requested in a timely manner. The Director of the Office of Students with Disabilities will determine with you what accommodations are necessary, appropriate and reasonable based on the documentation provided. All information and documentation is confidential. If appropriate, the Director of the Office of Students with Disabilities will write a “letter of academic accommodation” that you can share with me as your course instructor. Note, all students are expected to fulfill essential course requirements with or without reasonable accommodations.
 * SPECIAL NEEDS/ACCOMMODATIONS**

Capstone is a program course. The Master’s Portfolio is a significant part, portions of which will be graded by the instructors, but the overall rating is completed according to the TESOL Portfolio Rubric by a team of evaluators. The performance indicators are all process activities/assignments and we will be working together to bring them to a mastery level of completion. Therefore this means you will receive a grade of A (Mastery) when all performance indicators are demonstrated to the mutual satisfaction of the evaluating instructors and you. Grades will be awarded as follows:
 * GRADING**

A Five performance indicators at mastery level

B+ Four performance indicators at mastery level

B Three performance indicators at mastery level

Communication allows us to individualize and modify to meet student needs.

To support your professional as well as academic growth throughout your teacher education program, faculty will be assessing your professional fit with the role of a TESOL educator in schools and communities. Faculty will bring to your attention actions and language that may not be congruent with the professional standards that we hold and communicate via the professionalism rubric (see New Student Handbook) and the Policy on Academic Integrity. In addition, your program director may conduct an individual interview with you to bring to your attention any areas of concern. Successful professional conduct means that you display academic integrity, achieve the proficient levels or higher as noted on the professionalism rubric, and that you maintain a professional stance with peers, faculty members, and professionals in the field throughout the time you are enrolled in your teacher education program.
 * PROFESSIONALISM**

Attendance, Participation, Communication, and Professionalism – Ongoing (evaluation through instructor observation). Everyone is expected to contribute as a member of our professional learning community. • Attend all class sessions. In the event of an emergency, please call the instructor in advance • Attend Mentor consults as directed or requested • Meet all given deadlines • Participate in all collegial circles and lead one of the discussions during the semester • Communicate with all instructors and all members of the community in a professional, kind, and courteous manner
 * PERFORMANCE INDICATORS**

You will compile a portfolio reflecting your personal development in: TESOL I. Language II. Culture III. Planning, Managing, & Implementing Instruction IV. Assessment V. Professionalism
 * PORTFOLIO**

You will submit Domain Three of your portfolio to your mentor via Livetext by August 30. You will receive substantial feedback on this domain during a mentor consult session which is scheduled by appointment. You will then have time to make adjustments before submitting the final draft by September 20. This final version of your portfolio entry will then be formally evaluated by your instructor. You must earn a pass level in order to reach mastery in this area.
 * Domain Three:**

You will submit a polished draft of Domain 4 to your mentor via Livetext by September 27, with 2 peer editors listed. You will submit the final draft of this domain to your mentor by October 4. This final version of your portfolio entry will be formally evaluated by your mentor.You must earn a pass level in order to reach mastery for the Capstone course in this area.
 * Domain Four:**

You need to submit your Action Research modified entry slip to your mentor by October 18. Your analysis and reflection should include the importance of action research as it pertains to your attached evidence, your future teaching and professional issues. Your Capstone mentor formally evaluates this aspect of your portfolio. You must reach a pass in order to gain mastery in this area.
 * Action Research Modified Narrative:**

Professionals are expected to present their work for 40 minutes in an engaging and interactive format on December 6. The topic must relevant and demonstrate the passion the presenters have for the issue as well as inform the audiences of multiple considerations involved.
 * Professional Issues Presentation:**

Part of the grade in attendance & participation is required attendance at the Portfolio Exhibition. Students will present their portfolios in a formal and public forum on December 13, from 4:00 to 6:30 pm. Dress for this event is business attire, as for a job interview.Your attendance at this event is required. If you do not attend, you will need to meet with your Program Director to discuss this matter.
 * Portfolio Exhibition**

__Supplemental Reading List __

Danielson, C. (1996). Enhancing professional practice: A framework for teaching. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development . Esquith, R. (2007). Teach like your hair's on fire: The methods and madness inside room 56. New York: Penguin Books. Goodwin, S., & Swartz, E. (2004) Teaching children of color. Rochester, NY: RTA Press.

Jensen, E. (2009). Teaching with poverty in mind:what being poor does to kids' brains and what schools can do about it. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development

Palmer, P. J. (1998). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass A Wiley Company.

Popham, W.J. (2001). The truth about testing: An educator's call to action. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.